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It's easily the singer's best work since System of a Down's Toxicity in terms of songwriting, vision, and execution. That album remains a landmark for hard rock at large, but the vocalist elevates everything to a new plateau here. Tankian's always been a trailblazer, and he continues to break new ground on Harakiri.

A snaky clean guitar melody wraps around a wild riff during "Cornucopia", while the frontman recalls "20 afternoons in utopia". As the song crescendos into a staggering hook, he asks, "Do you believe in stormy weather?" The music turns like a twister, and Tankian builds an undeniably unique and surprisingly shuddering work of art.

The guitar at the beginning of "Figure it Out" slashes intensely as the legend's poetry rises and falls with the inflection of his voice. "Ching Chime" is warped and wonderful gem, vibrantly supported by Middle Eastern flare.

The title track provides one of the album's most poignant and powerful moments, pulling back the heaviness for a minute and giving his voice space to soar. By the same token, "Occupied Tears" rails against hypocrisy and tragedy with a wall of distortion. "Uneducated Democracy" stomps with a 22nd thrash violence that stops and starts on a dime painting a picture in blood of "the final revolution".

This is revolutionary music on a few levels. There are certainly words worthy of rallying together, but the songs themselves don't adhere to anyone's rules. That's why Harakiri simply explodes on impact. Once it hits on July 10, 2012, rock 'n' roll may never be the same.